Author: Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber was born in 1783 into a wealthy, educated family. He was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in the village of Hodnet near Shrewsbury in the west of England where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and worked tirelessly for three years until the weather and travel took its toll on his health and he died of a stroke. Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today.
-- Greg Scheer, 1995… Go to person page >

Notes

Using reverent and apocalyptic language, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" alludes to Revelation 4:6-11; 5:13; 15:2-4; and Isaiah 6:1-3 to sing the great majesty of the triune God. Note the cosmic scope of the text: human beings (st. 1), saints and angels in glory (st. 2), and all creation (st. 4) praise the name of the Lord! Though God's holiness, love, and purity are cloaked in mystery, we can still experience God's mercy and mighty power, and we can participate in praising God. The text is trinitarian in theme, but not in structure.

Reginald Heber (b. Malpas, Cheshire, England, 1783; d. Trichinopoly, India, 1826) wrote the text for Trinity Sunday, the day for which lectionary in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer prescribes the reading of Revelation 4. It was first published in the third edition (1826) of A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury and was also published posthumously in Heber's Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Services of the Year (1827). The unusual single rhyme (all on the "ee" sound) and the uneven number of syllables in some lines have not detracted from the hymn's popularity.

Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, Heber was ordained in the Church of England in 1807. He first served his family's parish in Hodnet, Shropshire (1807-1823), and in 1823 his dream of being a missionary was fulfilled when he was appointed bishop of Calcutta. He worked and traveled ceaselessly until his sudden death in 1826. Heber began writing hymns partly because of his dissatisfaction with the poor psalm singing in his congregation and partly because he was influenced by the vital hymn singing among Methodists and Baptists. He wrote hymns while in Hodnet and expressed a desire to compile a hymnbook with its contents appropriate to the church year. His fifty-seven hymn texts were published posthumously by his wife in Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Services of the Year (1827), a hymnbook that began a tradition of arranging the contents of hymn collections according to the church year.

Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Bishop R. Heber. [Holy Trinity.] First published in his posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 84, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and appointed for Trinity Sunday. It was soon adopted by hymn-book compilers, and is the best known and most widely used of the author's hymns. It is a splendid metrical paraphrase of Rev. iv. 8-11, line 2 of stanza i., "Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee," has been subjected to several changes to adapt the hymn to any hour of the day. Some of these alterations are:—
1. "Gratefully adoring our song,” &c. Leeds Hymn Book, 1853.
2. "Morning and evening our song," &c. Kennedy, 1863.
3. "Holy, holy, holy, our song,” &c. Hymnary, 1872.
4. “Morning, noon, and night, our song," &c.
The most popular change is the first of these. The majority of hymn-books, however, retain the original reading. Although a special hymn for Trinity Sunday, it is sometimes appointed as a morning hymn, as in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, p. 530, ii. The earliest printed form of this hymn known to us is in A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury, 3rd ed., 1825.

Tune

The tune NICAEA is named after the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) at which church leaders began to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity to oppose the heresies of Arius. NICAEA is one of the finest tunes composed by John B. Dykes (PHH 147) and the only one of his many tunes that resembles the style of…

For Leaders

In 325 AD, Church leaders convened in the town of Nicaea in Bithynia to formulate a consensus of belief and practice amongst Christians. What resulted was the Nicene Creed, a document passed on through the ages as one of the pillars of church doctrine. The primary function of this creed was to establish a firm belief in the Trinity, countering the heresy of Arius, who believed that Jesus was not fully divine. It was this creed that inspired Reginald Heber to write this great hymn of praise to the Triune God, with the intent that the hymn be sung before or after the creed was recited in a service, and on Trinity Sunday – eight weeks after Easter. The tune, composed by John B. Dykes for Heber’s text, is also titled NICAEA in recognition of Heber’s text. The words evoke a sense of awe at the majesty of God, and call on all of creation – humans, saints and angels, and all living things – to praise the Godhead three-in-one.

Text:

It is uncommon when researching hymns to find one included in just about every hymnal, with almost universally similar text. And yet this is the case with Reginald Heber’s greatest hymn, “Holy! Holy! Holy!” published in 1826. The few variations are found in versions sung by non-trinitarian churches – the Mormon Tabernacle Choir changed the words, “God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity” to “God in His glory, blessed Deity!” – but these alterations are few and far between. The only other changes make the language more gender inclusive: "though the eye of sinful man" changes to "though the eye made blind by sin."

Tune:

It is also very difficult to find a version of the hymn that is not sung to the most well-known of John B. Dykes’ tunes, NICAEA, written to accompany Heber’s text in 1861, and named after the council which first established the doctrine of the Trinity in 325 AD. Almost every hymnal includes the tune in the key of D. A few notes about instrumentation: to emphasize the confessional nature of the third stanza, bring down the volume a bit. Also, watch out for the last note of the third phrase! Too often we repeat the first phrase, which jumps from an A to an F# at the end. But the third phrase is purposefully different, holding out on the A. Make sure to really emphasize that difference.

There are a few different styles to which the tune can be adapted:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s contemporary, guitar-driven version with an original refrain

Sufjan Stevens’quieter, more reflective version led by piano

King’s College Choir’s traditional version with choir and organ

When/Why/How:

Heber wrote the hymn specifically for Trinity Sunday, which occurs eight weeks after Easter, to be sung before or after the Nicene Creed is recited. Yet it also functions as a hymn of praise that could be used at any point in a service throughout the liturgical year. It can also be used as a processional hymn in Communion services.

There are a multitude of songs that could be sung with this hymn – Michael W. Smith’s “Agnus Dei,” Chris Tomlin’s “Holy is the Lord,” or the great hymn “All Creatures of our God and King” are just some examples.

There are a number of organ/piano accompaniments and arrangements to choose from – here are a few suggestions: